Davin
Davin is the prime world of the solar system of the same name, conquered during the Great Crusade by the Warmaster Horus, his Luna Wolves Legion, and the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet alongside contingents from the Word Bearers Legion. Davin is one of two habitable worlds in its star system, the other is its moon. Both Davin and its moon were desert worlds discovered in the 140th year of the Great Crusade, where the Primarch Horus' 63rd Expeditionary Fleet linked up with a lost strand of humanity on the surface of the planet. It was the eighth world conquered by that fleet of the Great Crusade, and so for a time Davin had the designation Sixty-Three Eight. It is principally known for being the world on which Horus made his pact with the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and so began the Horus Heresy. This event took place in the Temple of the Serpent Lodge, an establishment secretly devoted to Chaos Undivided, where he was treated for injuries incurred while quashing a rebellious force on Davin's moon. Geography and Planetary Conditions Classified by the Imperium as a feral world, Davin's deserts contain many ruins that indicate that it could once have supported a more advanced human culture. Davin also possesses notably high mountain ranges, riven with tomb-filled, deep valleys, that descend into wide savannahs and grasslands that in turn run into the deserts. Great numbers of horned beasts migrate across its plains, hunted by razor-fanged predators, while serpents are common in the deserts. The uplands have earth of a hard clay that supports scrub vegetation and tall trees, while the river valleys are more fertile and contain the townships that hold most of the primitive human inhabitants of the world. Those that do not live in the townships are likely members of one of the various nomadic tribes. The indigenous inhabitants include a fierce warrior caste that regularly warred with one another before the arrival of the Imperium. This warrior caste were organised into different warrior-lodges that each venerated a particular form of local predator species. Inhabitants In the long years of separation from Terra during the Age of Strife, the inhabitants of Davin physically altered. They became taller and more sinuous than Terran humans, and their features more bestial. Their pupils grew until they filled most of the eye. Despite these animalistic changes, the Davinates retained their human intelligence, if not their Terran way of life. They had regressed to become nomadic camp dwellers, constantly shifting location across the planet. Davinates characteristically wear animal hides and carry unsafe antique black powder revolvers and handguns, and make use of stone or metal knives. Over time, the technological means to travel to the surface of their habitable moon vanished, and the nomadic cultures of each world grew further apart. When first encountered by the 63rd Expedition some 60 years before the start of the Horus Heresy, the Davinates were keen to embrace Imperial life, but their moon-based cousins hopelessly fought against the Space Marines, and were violently subdued. History Davin's known history only covers the brief time of (supposed) planetary compliance with Imperial rule. The indigenous warriors briefly attempted to resist the Imperial takeover, but quickly surrendered, completely outclassed in military terms. The warrior tribespeople were allowed to remain mostly intact after they surrendered to the Imperial forces, as they had impressed Horus with their battlefield courage and their willingness to learn and adapt to a new way of life. The actual military campaign on Davin was short, and the Luna Wolves left soon after the surrender of the Davinate warriors, taking with them their concept of the warrior lodge. The re-education and shepherding of the people into the light of Imperial Truth was left to a detachment of the Word Bearers Legion led by Kor Phaeron1-p.36-37, while governorship of the planet itself was given to Imperial Commander Eugen Temba.1-p.60 Sixty years later in the 200th year of the Great Crusade, Horus and the 63rd Expedition returned to Davin, at the behest of Chaplain Erebus of the Word Bearers2-p.412, who reported that Commander Temba and his forces had gone renegade and had holed up on Davin's moon. Horus led an assault force to the moon personally, where his forces were confronted by the reanimated zombie remains of Temba's garrison, who had embraced the worship of Nurgle the Plague Lord. Horus slew the grossly mutated Temba himself, but was gravely wounded while doing so. He was eventually 'healed' in the Temple of the Serpent Lodge on Davin proper, though only aftr he was manipulated by the Chaos Gods and agreed toswear himself to them in return for the right to replace the Emperor as the new ruler of the Imperium of Man. Davin's history after this momentous period is not currently known. The Luna Wolves' Warrior Lodge During Imperialisation, the nomadic warriors of Davin had first taught the Luna Wolves of their tradition of creating a lodge for warriors. The lodge was a way for members of all martial classes to meet as friends, where captains could speak freely to their line Marines. The Luna Wolves embraced this custom, however it was kept as a secret, non-official gathering because of official Imperial disapproval until the 200th year of the Great Crusade when Captain Loken discovered it. At the start of the Horus Heresy, the lodge began to make decisions that would have far reaching consequences throughout the Legion. Plague Moon Recalled to Davin by the Word Bearers Legion, the Luna Wolves returned to the world in the 200th year of the Crusade. Erebus, First Chaplain of the Word Bearers told Horus of how the Imperial Commander he had left behind as Davin's planetary governor, Eugan Temba, had turned traitor. Enraged, Horus attacked Davin's moon himself with a spearhead of 400 Luna Wolves, 3 Titans of the Legio Mortis, ''including Daes Irae, and 4000 Imperial Guardsmen of the Byzantine Janizars. Heavy tanks could not be deployed, as mysteriously the deserts of the moon had become plaque-ridden swamps, filled with the reanimated zombie-like corpses of the Imperial Guard Horus had left behind with Temba. Horus led an assault into Tebus' lair, inside a vast downed starship called ''Emperor's Glory. While Horus and 200 Astartes were inside, the mighty ship collapsed. Alone now, Horus made his way through the bowels of the ruined starship in search of Temba. He found Temba in the bridge of the ship, just as he killed Verulam Moy, one of Horus' captains. Horus killed Temba, but was struck by the Kinebrach anathame, a xenos sword, in the process. The anathame ''poisoned Horus until he was unable to walk and close to death. The Mournival (a group of Horus' most trusted advisers in the Luna Wolves) rushed him back up to Horus' flagship for an operation to save the Primarch's life. Appearing to be dirty yellow/brown coloured from orbit, Davin's moon was originally charted as being similar to Davin in atmosphere and climate. Some time after the Imperial pacification of Davin the warping effects of the Chaos Powers, particularly that of Nurg-leth (Nurgle), grossly altered the moon's once temperate ecosystem. Most of the forestation vanished, and much of the moorland turned into particularly noxious and fog-bound swampland which eventually would conceal the mass-graves of the Imperial garrison. A significant landmark was created by the wreck of the large Imperial starship, the ''Glory of Terra.1-p.105-127 After the destruction of Eugen Temba, Nurgle's power seemed to be withdrawn from the world, making it somewhat less foul in general as well as clearing most of the murk and fog from the atmosphere.1-p.214 House of False Gods Unable to cure Horus, the Luna Wolves warrior lodge, now 300-strong, decided to bear Horus to the Temple of the Serpent Lodge on Davin, as Erebus, alreadya secret devotee of the Ruinous Powers, told the Luna Wolves it was a house of healing. The Temple of the Snake Lodge was a massive building called the Delphos located inside a large crater. Inside, Eberus corrupted Horus by exposing him to the will of the Chaos Gods, who manipulated Horus' emotions and his latent jealousy towards his father the Emperor, and ignited the spark that would begin the Horus Heresy. Emerging from the Temple apparently healed, the 63rd Expedition rejoiced at Horus' return to full health, never realizing that the seeds of corruption and treason had already been laid within his heart. Sources *1. ''False Gods ''by Graham McNiell *''2. Horus Rising ''by Dan Abnett